Bromsgrove RFC urged to take battle to Scunthorpe

DAN Protherough has challenged Bromsgrove to have no fear in taking the game to rivals Scunthrope in Saturday’s National Three Midlands match of the day.

The Boars showed what they are capable of by crushing Sandbach 51-38 last weekend to halt a run of back-to-back defeats,

The director of rugby was delighted with his side’s attacking intent and stressed they will need to raise the level again at third-placed Scunthorpe, who lie six points ahead of Bromsgrove.

“It will be a tough, tough encounter at Scunthorpe.” said Protherough. “We managed to win twice in our games last season but they were both very tough matches. It will be another battle.

“It will be about hard work, and we will have to play well.

“We need to get onto the front foot from the start, we need to dominate from the first whistle. We’ve got to be proactive. We got to set out our stall and impose our game on Scunthorpe.”

That was certainly the case last Saturday, with a seven-try display, sparked by four tries from Ed Spalding.

“In patches, we played some of the best rugby we have played all season. That was very pleasing.

“On one hand, we were very pleased to get a five-points victory, but there was also plenty to work on.

“It was pleasing to see the extra urgency in our play. We did the basics right and that allowed us to play at a higher pace, get over the gain line and create chaos in the opposition’s defence.

“Our structure broke down a little bit at times and we conceded a couple of tries late on. The victory was a bit more comprehensive than the scoreline suggested.”

Protherough was delighted to see Spalding sparkle, not only as a try-scorer but also with his all-round game.

“Ed has had a couple of games where he did really get into the action but we haven’t done upfront,” said the Boars director of rugby. “On Saturday, it was a really top-class performance, not only in attack. He has got bags of potential. He can be an excellent player.”

Bromsgrove, however, will be forced into changing a winning line-up to face Scunthorpe.

Second-row Matt Edgar suffered a bad ankle ligaments injury which will mean he is ruled out until the New Year.

University of Worcester trio Harry Anderson-Brown, Lewis Arnold and Jamie Atkin are also missing for a skiing trip.

Second-team captain Ted Foster and Alex Woodward will come into the squad.

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